As the aging baby boomer generation approaches retirement age, healthcare providers are searching for ways to ease the burden of an increasingly older population. Subsequent generations are migrating away from their parents and grandparents which significantly increases the relevance of assisted living facilities in the lives of elderly patients. Moreover, a rising life expectancy and dependence on a greater number of health professionals is contributing to a more expensive healthcare system. Social robotics is a technology proposed to assist caregivers in menial tasks as well as extend the independence and quality of life for aging individuals.
A social robot is an autonomous robot that interacts and communicates with humans or other autonomous physical agents by following social behaviors and rules attached to its roles. The field of social robotics was started in the 1940s-1950s. Autonomy is a requirement for social robots. A completely remote controlled robot cannot be considered to be social because it does not make decisions by itself. In this vein, a remote-controlled robot is merely the extension of its human controller. This does not mean however that a robot must be completely autonomous to be considered a social robot. A robot with only partial autonomy is often times still considered to be social.
For many elderly patients, loneliness is a most serious condition. Many senior citizens have been left widowed and/or in a nursing home or other facility with no one to come and visit. Many of these individuals suffer physical ailments and set-backs due to a lack of social stimulation. Some institutions have recognized the benefits of domestically trained pets in these situations and provide such companions to their elderly patients. It has been concluded that pets can satisfy many of the needs of elderly patients and encourage them to hold on to the world of reality and of intense emotional relationships.
One object of the present invention is to simulate the type of social interactivity elderly patients receive through developing a relationship with a pet through a social robot that is capable of providing additional care-giving utilities. One exemplary embodiment of the present invention utilizes a robot, such as the PLEO™, previously manufactured by robotics developer UGOBE, as a platform for robotic technology. The robotic dinosaur is an autonomous social robot which imitates a baby Camarasauras maturing into a young adult. To perform exemplary embodiments of the system and method of the present invention, the robotic dinosaur, is reprogrammed to perform the roles of both a healthcare tool and companion. In many exemplary embodiments, the reprogrammed robotic dinosaur may provide an interface to technology that is more approachable to the elderly. Additional exemplary embodiments implement social robots other than a robotic dinosaur that have been programmed to exhibit the desired applications.
In exemplary embodiments of the system and method of the present invention, a social robot is programmed so that it is capable of socially interacting with an elderly patient in order to improve the patient's adherence to a health or medical regime. This interaction can be carried out in such a way that the relationship formed between the elderly patient and the social robot increases the likelihood of the patient taking his or her medication as scheduled. For example, in one exemplary embodiment where a reprogrammed robotic dinosaur is being utilized as the social robot interface, the robotic dinosaur may begin to exhibit symptoms of illness, discontent, etc., unless the elderly patient takes his or her medication as scheduled. Because the elderly patient has developed a relationship with the robotic dinosaur and cares for its wellbeing, the patient will take his medication to benefit his robotic dinosaur. In exemplary embodiments, an intended consequence of the relationship formed between the elderly patient and the social robot is the improved healthcare of the elderly patient. In other exemplary embodiments, the social robot may also be programmed to remind an elderly patient of important events as well as play games with the elderly patient. In a preferred exemplary embodiment, a social robot is capable of interacting with an elderly patient and performing a memory game.
In some exemplary embodiments, a social robot is at least partially controlled remotely by an application run on a computer. The computer may be equipped with programs which make possible the monitoring of various healthcare related statistics of an elderly patient. For example, the computer may have a program which monitors the patient's weight and is able to produce various graphs and figures depicting the patient's weight history. Some exemplary embodiments of the program keep track of a patient's weight goal and provide a healthcare provider with statistics related to their patient's progress in meeting that goal. If for example a given patient is under weight, the program may be capable of providing the healthcare provider with information relating to the average number of calories the patient has been consuming per day and how many additional calories should be added to the patient's diet to help the patient meet his or her ideal weight.
In one exemplary embodiment where a social robot is controlled remotely by an application executing on a computer, the social robot acts as the primary interface to the elderly patient that assists in the collection of data utilized by the computer's application. In the exemplary embodiment where the computer program is able to monitor a patient's weight history, the social robot may be able to upload data from a scale which the patient uses to weigh him or her self. Additionally, the robot may be able to react to the data which it uploads in order to encourage the patient's compliance with a certain regimen. The regimen may include performing certain health activities at particular times or at particular frequencies in order to reach a particular health goal. For example, if a certain patient using the present system is overweight, the health activity may include regular weigh-ins (e.g., weekly, bi-weekly, etc.). The health goal may be a target weight. The patient may be encouraged to follow a special diet in order to lose weight. After performing the health activity (i.e., weigh-in), data uploaded into the robot from the patient's scale may indicate that the patient has gained weight since his or her last weigh-in. The robot may then respond to this result by conveying that it is disappointed. The patient is ideally encouraged to get back on his or her diet in order to receive a satisfied response from the robot at the next weigh-in. If the patient does not perform the health activity within an expected timeframe, the robot may be programmed to act in manner that serves as a reminder to the patient to perform the health activity. In preferred exemplary embodiments, data from a wireless healthcare device is not actually uploaded into the robot, but rather is uploaded directly into the computer which then sends a signal to the robot where the signal causes the robot to exhibit a certain behavior.
In some exemplary embodiments where a social robot is controlled remotely by an application executing on a computer, the application utilizes data relating to many different healthcare issues. For example, the application may utilize data relating to a patient's blood pressure, heart rate, sleep schedule, physical activity, etc. A regiment for performing health activities may be established for each of these health conditions. For example, a patient may be instructed to measure his or her blood pressure daily. Results are compared to a target to determine whether the patient is making progress toward a goal or within an expected or preferred range. In a preferred embodiment, a social robot is programmed to exhibit responses based on all the data recorded in the computer's application. The responses exhibited by the social robot based on the data recorded in the computer's application may de different for each data set, but this is not required.